… True dwarf conifers average about one-twentieth the typical size, with most species growing from 1 to 6 inches annually and reaching less than 6 feet after ten years. An intermediate dwarf … characteristics of each, keeping in mind their different foliage and colors, which may differ from the parent or normal species. And don't forget their small size is relative: discover the … (or, as they are sometimes called, “sports”) can also introduce changes in a particular bud from the normal growing parent to a dwarfed habit. Finally, tangled, dense clumps of branchlets …
Type: Plant Info
… español ↓ Conservation scientist Hector Ortiz Cano grew up in Sonora, Mexico, where he learned from his ancestors’ reverence for the land. Hector inspects Agave at the Chicago Botanic Garden … his profession and purpose began to form in his postgraduate work, studying quelites, a plant from the Amaranthaceae family. Although some amaranths are ancient grains related to quinoa, … for Plant Conservation Science and Action. While Ortiz welcomes his Hispanic heritage from Mexico as part of his life and its influence, he distinguishes it from his Mestizo …
Type: Blog
… The great blue herons you see at the Garden in late spring and early summer likely have flown from a rookery several miles away to find food to bring back to their young. A rookery is a group … place with squawking young hollering for their dinner. When they see their parents return from their food-finding forays, the young get louder until mom or dad lands on the nest and …
Type: Birding
… orange, or brown bell-like flowers that cover the top half of the tapering spike but bloom from the bottom up. The long-lasting flowers, which should be protected from strong winds, are showiest when planted against dark backgrounds such as evergreens. Plant …
Type: Plant Info
… compact cultivars generally remain under 5 feet, in height as well as width. Plants can vary from attractive mounding forms to more upright shapes. Leaves are small, leathery, and dark … the Chicago Botanic Garden, winterberries are found massed throughout most major garden areas, from the Native Plant Garden to the Japanese Garden. The west courtyard of the Horticulture …
Type: Plant Info
… us. Let your eyes be drawn upward along the trunk of a tree to the branches and then move from treetop to treetop like a bird or squirrel might. What did you notice? Who said that? Find … us. Let your eyes be drawn upward along the trunk of a tree to the branches and then move from treetop to treetop like a bird or squirrel might. What did you notice? Who said that? Find …
Type: Page
… Twitty. It’s the memoir of a culinary historian who traces Southern cuisine and food culture from Africa to America. Tim Pollak, the Garden’s outdoor floriculturist recommends The … Good Reads Leora Siegel, senior director, Lenhardt Library, shares her book recommendations from the library’s collection. From the Classics A-Z Encyclopedia of Garden Plants by Christopher Brickell Dirr's Encyclopedia …
Type: Plant Info
… on steroids. These designed landscapes are works of living art that mimic or take inspiration from nature. The hand of man (and woman) is evident. Unlike a cottage garden filled with … 66,000 perennials, and nearly 7,000 shrubs. Prairie-Meadow Style When my mother first moved from England to Chicago in the late 1950s, she’d never heard of a prairie. In England, a … stormwater capture, and much more. And meadowscaping can be used just about anywhere, from sprawling corporate campuses and public gardens, to a small section of an urban or suburban …
Type: Plant Info
… red-bellied woodpeckers. Planning your choice of plants The Garden's fruiting shrubs and trees from around the world encourage some otherwise migratory birds, such as hermit thrushes, to spend … a big difference in what wildlife you see. Winter wildlife The Garden keeps an area of water from icing over for the benefit of the resident trumpeter swans, and the open water also attracts … is the weather. They must huddle against winter storms in the nests, or dreys, they build from fallen leaves in tree cavities or on high branches. These nests are easy to spot in winter. …
Type: Plant Info
… Nelumbo lutea , the American yellow lotus, is the only lotus native to the United States. Hardy from Zones 4 to 11, it grows naturally in large ponds and lakes as far north as Ontario and south … pads — round, flat, and floating on the water. The true leaves will emerge later, uncurling from a tightly wrapped sharp spike elevated high above the water’s surface. These leaves, … Over a period of time, the distinctive seedpod expands in size and dries to a hard brown finish. Then the pods are often harvested to be dried for floral arrangements. Because it is such …
Type: Plant Info
